Turkey has been blocking Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance for nineteen months. Ankara accused Stockholm of sheltering members of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted his veto in July 2023, the text had still not been ratified by the Turkish Parliament. The Foreign Affairs Committee today approved the accession protocol. The text should be validated soon by Parliament.
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With our correspondent in Ankara, Céline Pierre-Magnani
After nineteen months of suspense, a new step has just been reached. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament had for the first time rejected Sweden’s accession protocol to NATO. The text was finally accepted today, thanks to the votes of the presidential majority parties and those of the main opposition party, the Kemalist CHP party.
This decision was immediately welcomed by Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström: “ We look forward to becoming a member of NATO “, he told the public television site SVT Nyheter. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also “ greeted » Tuesday the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament voted in favor of Sweden’s membership in the Atlantic Alliance.
There have been many bones of contention between Ankara and its Western partners in recent years. Last burning issue, that of the war led by the government of Benyamin Netanyahu in Gaza. Support from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the organization of Hamas has been flawless in recent weeks.
Beyond the question of the anti-terrorist fight with the PKK, Ankara had clearly linked its ratification of Sweden’s entry to another issue…. That of the delivery of F-16 fighter jets by the United States, but President Joe Biden’s phone call in mid-December seems to have convinced Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Sweden’s accession protocol must, ultimately, be validated by Parliament in order to be definitively adopted. No date has yet been communicated. Turkey was the last member of the Atlantic Alliance with Hungary to block Sweden’s path, multiplying demands and pretexts to justify its reluctance.
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